About ensemble Bosphorus
The core of the musical group 'Bosphorus' is made up of veteran virtuosi specialized in Ottoman music.
Its home base is the modern Istanbul, the Ottoman Konstantiniye, and the Byzantine Constantinople.
Founded in 1986 by Nikiforos Metaxas a Byzantine music specialist, it became the first musical ensemble to open up culturally to Greece exploring the roots of both Greek and Turkish music and for the first time unveiling the Greek contribution to the 'Ilm-i Musiki' (The Science of Music) tradition, also called 'Classical Turkish Music' and 'Turkish Art Music'.
This musical tradition carries agglomerate substrata of all the musical traditions and theories on philosophical and cosmological speculation, which through time immemorial circulated from the Eastern Mediterranean to Persia and beyond.
The music of 'Bosphorus' is deeply inlayed with the influence of dervish music as is also this whole musical tradition for it was the Mevlevi dervish brotherhood, the 'Mevleviye' who transported the body of the Eastern musical tradition and the 'Maqams' transforming it to fill the needs of their ceremonial music and whirling dance (Sema).
'Bosphorus' explores the musical universe of both the Mevlevi and Bektashi brotherhoods of Islam.
To sound and to fathom the historical depth of this city, its straits and its Anatolian hinterland another group 'Light of Anatolia' or 'Phanari tis Anatolis' branches out from the classical core of 'Bosphorus'.
This group ventures into the folk music traditions of both Turkey and Greece while opening a window to the rich musical universe of the Alevi of Anatolia. Rigged-up with some of the younger members from the classical group this formation is more flexible to diverge from rigid tradition; the group begins to compose its own repertoire while readily experimenting new sounds with guest musicians from the world of contemporary music.
More challenging is the group's ambition in creating new patterns of Turkish and Greek music by cooperating with prominent Greek musicians and groups in concerts and recordings.
What distinguishes 'Bosphorus' from other groups in the field of Ottoman music is its link with Greece through its Greek founder, artistic and musical director, whereas its chief musicians as well as all the other musicians have been Turkish. In fact the true nationality of the group has always been ambivalent a fact which enhances the group's universality.
To make the group more creative and to establish its credibility, major musicians of legendary status were incorporated into the group and formed its nucleus. To be able to enthrall large audiences made up of mostly young people, Bosphorus developed a dynamic style and immediacy, which became its hallmark.
'Bosphorus' since its creation concentrated its cultural activity in presenting the treasures of this tradition to Greece. Since 1986, Bosphorus has performed in all the major venues of Athens and the whole of Greece.
